From the States

New Delhi: New Delhi railway station is not disabled friendly

Nearly a year ago, a team of 10 people, each with a particular disability spent a whole day at the Capital's New Delhi railway station for what was an "access audit review" commissioned by the "chief commissioner for persons with disabilities".

It concluded that despite seemingly elaborate arrangements, the station fell short on several counts. The audit's results, along with a set of recommendations, had been sent to the Railway. Most of the recommendations have yet to be implemented.

"Several of the recommendations have not been acted upon," Sanjeev Sachdeva of the NGO Samarthya, which volunteered for the access audit review, told the Hindustan Times.

Northern Railway spokesperson Rajiv Saxena did admit that services for the disabled were not up to the mark. However, he promised things would change soon. "Facilities, especially signage, are being changed to meet international standards. The work should be over in a couple of months," Saxena said.

Signage Bloopers

"A disabled person could be extremely uncomfortable after entering the New Delhi railway station and won't know what awaits him/her inside," Anjali Aggarwal, a member of the review audit group, said.

The auditors found that the Railway seemed to have devised their own symbols to indicate facilities for the disabled. These were different from the ones that are recognized internationally and could actually be misleading.

Aggarwal and her team recommended "more dynamic" signs, known as access symbols, located in places that are more accessible. However, despite the recommendations, the signage remains as it was. For a massive complex like the New Delhi railway station, the signs are few.

Not a Drop to Drink

A design flaw prevents disabled persons from reaching water taps installed for their use. The taps are at a lower height, but are still out of reach of wheelchair-users.

"There is no cavity under the sink into which the wheelchair can slide in and make the tap reachable to a disabled person," Aggarwal said. "Also, rather than a regular tap a fountain tap which throw water upwards would have been more useful," she said. This suggestion too appears to have found few takers at the Railways.

Even after more than a year, the facility is waiting for that vital alteration. As a result, from being a special facility meant for the disabled, it is now being used by everyone.

Crossing the Bar

Visually-impaired people are dependent on handlebars to climb up and down staircases. Sweety Bhalla, a 27-year-old visually impaired girl who was part of the audit group, said that handrails at the station have a peculiar problem.

"For some reason, the handlebars along the stairs start at the second or third step. So while descending, a blind person may believe the stairs have ended with the handlebar and trip over the remaining couple of steps," she said.

Bhalla said the access audit had recommended tactile warning block along the edge of platforms so that blind persons did not run the risk of falling on the tracks. "But my recent visit to the station revealed that this has not been done on even a single platform," she said.

Deputy Chief Commissioner for persons with disability, T.D. Dhariyal, who was preset at the audit, said: "I will give the Railways a reminder about the recommendations. I'm sure they will be adhered to sooner or later."

Parking for Disabled

The parking space reserved for the disabled at the VIP parking lot is being misused. The study had found that at any given time, the reserved space was occupied by a car not owned by a disabled person. The parking attendant was clueless.

"The special sticker for a car owned or used by a disabled person is the indicator for a parking attendant. But we found that the parking attendant was not sensitized enough to know that," Sachdeva said. What's worse, even a police PCR van was found occupying a space meant for the disabled.

There is still no access symbol painted on the ground, as recommended by the review audit.

The station needs to be disabled-friendly, especially because of the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

Source: Stumbling blocks one too many at train station. The Hindustan Times, Daily. New Delhi, 11 September 2006.

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Disabled is finally given admission in ITI

A 70 per cent disabled student, who was earlier denied admission to the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Shimla, finally succeeded to get into the course of his choice, but only after the intervention of the Society for Disability Rehabilitation Studies (SDRS).

The initiative of the SDRS has not only brought cheer to Tarun but this case has also sent out a strong message throughout the state. After this case was highlighted, the State Disability Commissioner Bhim Sen directed the Director of Technical Education to ensure strict implementation of the rules of admission for the disabled in all technical education institutions.

Tarun Kumar who is deaf and dumb, had been denied admission. Even as six candidates had applied for the seven reserved seats, he had been rejected by the panel of selectors.

Source: Disabled student gets admission to ITI after society's intervention. Indian Express, daily. Chandigarh, 6 September 2006.

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